[ by Howard Haykin ]

Mark your calendars.  On 6/19/13, the U.K. government will give its strongest indication that the time is right to offload its nationalized holdings in Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland.   Chancellor George Osborne is scheduled to give his annual Mansion House speech to financiers on that date. 

During the 2008 financial crisis, the U.K. government bailed out ...  the 2 banks at a combined cost of 66 billion pounds - for which it retained an 81% stake in RBS and a 39% stake in Lloyds.  Needless to say, the government is keen to start selling off those holdings to the private sector - before the next election in 2015 - and Prime Minister David Cameron, last month, said he was "open to all ideas" for returning the banks to private ownership.

The Treasury and UK Financial Investments (UKFI), which manages the government's stakes, are still looking at a range of options and Osborne is not yet ready to set out how the shares will be disposed of, the sources said.  The Chancellor is waiting for the publication of a report from the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which he set up last year, before formulating his plans. That report is expected before the Mansion House speech and could come as early as Thursday.

Current Bank Valuations.   Lloyds is currently valued at 44 billion pounds, while RBS is worth around 20 billion.

For further details, go to:    [ Reuters, 6/10/13 ].